Report: Students chose more public than private schools in their college search last year

April 5, 2011

Along with online education, school are seeing an increase in the number of student who pick public institutions.

Millions more students are attending public institutions than private institutions, according to a 2010 study by the National Center for Education Statistics.

The center shows that in the fall of 2010, an estimated 7.5 million students were enrolled in public 4-year schools. During that semester, 4.6 million students attended private four-year institutions.

Florida has seen this drastic increase in public school students in recent years, according to the Sun Sentinel. State officials told the news outlet that they attribute this rise to an increasing high school graduation rate, a poor economy and relatively cheap in-state tuition.

Increases in the number of public university applicants, however, will make it more difficult than ever for residents to be accepted into schools such as the University of North Florida (UNF), according to the news source.

Officials from UNF said they sometimes need to turn down qualified students.

Online education is increasing along with the desire to study at public universities, according to the 2010 Sloan Survey of Online Education. The study shows that from 2009 to 2010, online enrollment figures increased by 21 percent, compared to a 2 percent increase in overall higher education enrollment figures.